Under the Convention, all Parties should report on the steps they are taking to implement the
Convention (Articles 4.1 and 12). Most of the 41 Annex I Parties submitted their first report
(known as a "national communication" (NC)) in 1994 or 1995, their second in 1997–1998
and the third after 30 November 2001. The fifth NCs were due on 1 January 2010 and the sixth
NCs on 1 January 2014. Decision 9/CP.16 calls for submission of the seventh NCs on 1
January 2018.

Submissions of the sixth NCs by Annex I Parties to the UNFCCC secretariat, as well as previous NC
submissions, can be found here.

Reporting Guidelines for National Communications

In preparing their NCs, Annex I Parties should follow the UNFCCC guidelines for reporting and review.
These guidelines have been revised twice, at COP 2 (Geneva, July 1996) for the preparation of the
second round of communications, and again at COP 5 (Bonn, Oct./Nov. 1999), where revised reporting
guidelines (FCCC FCCC/CP/1999/7) were adopted for the preparation of third NCs and continue to be
applied. The UNFCCC guidelines for reporting and review have been under a third revision since June
2014, though they have yet to be finalized. To facilitate the preparation
of the fifth NCs the UNFCCC secretariat has prepared an annotated
outline (278 kB) including reporting elements under the Kyoto Protocol and presented an
overview
on the relevant guidelines and reporting requirement.

Compilation and Synthesis Reports

Upon requests from the Subsidiary Body of Implementation (SBI), the secretariat
prepares compilation and
synthesis (C&S) reports of the NCs that summarize information provided in the individual NCs.
The latest C&S report of the sixth NCs, presented to SBI 41 (Lima, December 2014), has presented
a summary of information reported under both, the Convention and under its Kyoto Protocol.

In-depth Reviews

In accordance with the existing procedures and decisions under the Convention and its Kyoto Protocol,
the secretariat is organizing and coordinating in-depth reviews (IDRs) of NCs of Annex I Parties. The
review of each NC typically involves a desk-based study and an in-country visit, and aims to provide
a comprehensive, technical assessment of a Party's implementation of its commitments under the
Convention, and for the Annex I Parties that are also Parties under the Kyoto Protocol, under the
Kyoto Protocol. In-depth reviews are conducted by an international team of experts from Annex I and
non-Annex I Parties, selected from the Roster of Experts.

The in-depth review results in an in-depth review report which aims
to facilitate the work of the COP/CMP in assessing the implementation of commitments by Annex I
Parties. The in-depth review reports also allow easier comparison of information between NCs of
Parties. The in-depth review of the sixth NCs began in February 2014.

The UNFCCC secretariat invited lead reviewers to share their experiences in review of the NCs and BRs
at the First and Second Meeting of Lead Reviewers for the review of Biennial Reports and National
Communications of Annex I Parties in March 2014 and March 2015, respectively.

6th National Communication
/ First biennial report

Annex I Parties should submit their sixth national communication (NC6) and the first biennial report
(BR1) to the
UNFCCC secretariat by 1 January 2014